and His exclusive right to be worshipped, as He, exalted is He, says: “Among His signs are the night and the day, the sun and the moon. Do not prostrate yourselves to the sun or to the moon; rather, prostrate yourselves to Allah who created them, if it is Him you truly worship.”

The time for the eclipse prayer extends from the very beginning of the eclipse until it has completely cleared, because the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “When you see that, then pray.” Agreed upon. In another narration: “When you see anything of that, pray until it clears.” Muslim transmitted this wording.

The eclipse prayer is not made up after the obscuration has passed, for its prescribed time is over. If the eclipse clears before people become aware of it, they do not perform the prayer.

How the eclipse prayer is performed: one offers two rakʿahs (cycles of prayer) and, according to the sounder of the two scholarly views, recites aloud. In the first rakʿah he recites al-Fātiḥah followed by a long surah such as al-Baqarah, or something of comparable length, then bows in a lengthy rukūʿ. He then rises, saying, “Samiʿa Allahu liman ḥamidah, Rabbanā laka al-ḥamd,” standing upright as in all prayers. After that he recites al-Fātiḥah again and a surah that is long yet shorter than the first—about the length of Āl ʿImrān—then bows once more, prolonging this bowing though it is slightly shorter than the first. He rises, saying, “Samiʿa Allahu liman ḥamidah, Rabbanā wa laka al-ḥamd, ḥamdan kathīran ṭayyiban mubārakan fīh, milʾa as-samāʾ wa milʾa al-arḍ wa milʾa mā shiʾta min shayʾin baʿd,” and proceeds to make two long prostrations, without lengthening the sitting between them. He then performs